ISRO Espionage: Kerala High Court Dismisses Plea Alleging Nambi Narayanan Influenced CBI Officers By Entering Into Land Deals

The Kerala High Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by former police officer S. Vijayan accusing Nambi Narayanan of influencing the CBI investigation against him by entering into land deals worth crores with the then investigating officials of the agency.

Justice R Narayana Pisharadi dismissed the criminal revision petition leaving liberty to the petitioner to file a fresh complaint with the appropriate documents:

"The allegations in the complaint, prima facie, do not attract the ingredients of the offences under Sections 7 to 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (before its amendment in the year 2018)."

The Court added:

"An unnecessary investigation or even a preliminary enquiry into an offence under the P.C Act against a public servant may cause a blemish on his career and reputation. Once such a blemish is caused, it would be very difficult to erase it. What matters is not just that the complainant alleges the commission of an offence. The complaint must disclose commission of an offence by some person. Investigation cannot be ordered on the basis of a complaint that is not supported by genuine materials. The Court must be satisfied that an offence is 'disclosed' by the materials produced by the complainant."

Vijayan, along with 17 other former Kerala police and IB officials, is facing a CBI probe for allegedly implicating Narayanan and some others in the 1994 ISRO espionage case. He and three others were recently granted anticipatory bail by the Court in the CBI's conspiracy case against them.

The petitioner had placed before the trial court encumbrance certificates of several acres of land in Tamil Nadu which revealed Narayanan or his son as the power of attorney holders, yet the complaint was rejected.

According to the petitioner, certain plots were sold to the CBI officials, and this material was sufficient for the trial court to order an investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the scientist and the agency officials.

When the matter came up before the High Court, the Single Judge observed that encumbrance certificates did not prove the sale of land and asked the petitioner to produce the actual sale deeds. It added that the sanction to prosecute would also be required for the trial court to order an investigation.

The Bench further opined that the trial court had only rejected the petitioner's complaint and did not dismiss it. Therefore, he still had the option to move a fresh complaint before it along with all the relevant documents.

Case Title: S. Vijayan v. Central Bureau of Investigation

Click Here To Read/Download The Order